


A Gift

by dedkake



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 01:25:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5028334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dedkake/pseuds/dedkake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik seeks out a local mage to help him track down Shaw.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Gift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [endingthemes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/endingthemes/gifts).



> (i've had this draft sitting here and forgot to post it earlier!) thanks for the prompt! magic is always fun and there are never enough urban fantasies.

Erik looks between the GPS on his phone, Darwin’s note, and the store in front of him. The door is narrow and dark and the display window—empty, save for a small table and crystal ball—is so dingy that it blends almost seamlessly into the grey brick of the building. If it weren’t for the gold “X” marked on the door, Erik would think that he’d somehow ended up at the wrong place. But Darwin had definitely described that “X” in his description of Professor X’s Shop.

The inside is just as gloomy as the outside, lit by a few strings of holiday lights and some lamps that look as old as Erik’s grandmother. There are stones and minerals displayed on almost every open surface, even in front of the books that line the shelves around the shop. Erik’s never put much stock in the occult like this before—words have been enough for the spells he trusts.

There’s a cough from the brightest corner of the shop and he almost jumps. He hadn’t noticed someone there, but he sees her now, a young woman, maybe still a teenager, her hair long and blonde and shining in the twinkling light as she raises an eyebrow at him.

“Can I help you with anything?” she asks, leaning against the display case that clearly doubles as the counter. There’s a catalogue open on the counter before her and her eyes keep flicking back to it. Clearly she has no interest in him. Which would be fine any other time, because Erik has no interest in children, either.

Slipping his phone back in his pocket, Erik tries to remember Darwin’s instructions. If he doesn’t get the wording just right, no one here will help him. There’s too much fear of being found out for mages to conduct their business openly.

“I have a gift for the Professor,” he says carefully, his fingers tight on the note in his pocket. He’ll need to destroy it after this, to erase all evidence of his contact with Darwin.

The girl’s eyes snap up to him, sparkling in the soft light. Erik relaxes. Darwin’s words have been true so far and now he can almost taste victory.

She scrutinizes him for a moment, her eyes hard, and Erik wonders if he’s misjudged her age—she seems far wiser now than she had moments ago.

“The Professor’s office is in the back.” Her words are spoken clearly this time, each word enunciated properly as she points towards a door that Erik had overlooked.

Hesitating only a moment, Erik crosses the shop to the door. It’s set snugly between two bookshelves and the handle looks old and unused, but it gives easily enough under his hands and a softly uttered spell. Metal always gives way to him.

The back room looks much like the shop, lined with bookshelves and lit with nothing but candles and strings of lights, but it feels much older, much more powerful. Mages work here, dealing in real magic, and Erik shivers. He hates the feel of it, the warm undercurrent in the room, the power in the air—it makes it hard to focus on the spells he trusts. It makes him feel trapped.

There’s a man at the small table in the center of the room, bright-eyed and young—not so young as the woman from the front of the shop, but just as beautiful—and Erik knows that this is the Professor, this is the mage he needs to trust. His stomach twists painfully.

“Good evening, Mr. Lehnsherr,” the man says, the use of his name making Erik’s hair stand on end. Darwin had warned that the Professor was a seer and the reminder is chilling. It feels like a challenge.

“I need to find someone,” Erik bites out in place of a greeting, his hands curling into loose fists. He may be a mage, but he still favors a physical fight.

The Professor seems completely unfazed by him, taking a calm sip of his tea. “And you want me to locate this person?” he asks, setting the teacup down in its saucer with a dainty _clink_.

Erik bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from shouting. _Of course_ that’s what he wants—but he can’t let this chance slip through his fingers. If he makes an enemy here, he may never get another chance to find Shaw. “Yes.”

The noise the Professor makes is soft and contemplative and Erik wants to scream. “That’s no simple spell. What are you willing to give in return?”

“How much do you want?” Erik asks, thinking of his accounts. Any amount of money is worth it to bring Shaw within his grasp.

Smiling, the Professor shakes his head. “That’s not how this works, Mr. Lehnsherr. We make money in the front of the shop. Back here,” the Professor pauses to nod around him at the dark walls and pristine bookshelves, “back here it’s a gift for a gift.”

Heart beating hard, Erik tries not to let the memories of Shaw’s den of magic surface. His mother had warned him about dealing in magic and so far, all of Erik’s encounters with other mages have left him burned. He doesn’t trust this professor—barely has proof that this will work, no matter what he offers, but he’s out of options.

“What do you want?” he asks, because he doesn’t know what a man like the Professor would possibly want from his gift.

Leaning forward across the table, the Professor squints at Erik for a long moment. “I want,” he says slowly, his accent more drawn out now, “you to come back.”

“What?” Erik asks, letting out the breath he’d been holding with the word. That couldn’t possibly be it.

“I want to see you again,” the Professor says, folding his hands on the table.

Erik glares, wishing he’d thought to bring along his gun. “You want me to whore myself out for this?” he asks, trying to mask at least some of his anger. It’s not that he hasn’t done it before with people he’s less attracted to, even, but more the presumption of it—the Professor’s patronizing gaze leveled at him across the table.

But that patronizing gaze blinks itself away as the Professor shakes his head. “Not at all, although I’m sure that would be lovely,” he says, licking his lips. Erik almost feels disappointed. “After we find whoever it is you’re looking for, I want you to meet some people.”

Mind scrambling to make sense of the request, Erik takes a step back from the table. All this mage wants from him is for him to meet people—and he wants it to happen _after_ he’s fulfilled his side of the bargain. It seems too good to be true, far too easy compared with the deals he’s made in the past.

“All I have to do is meet them?” he asks tentatively. He does not add that he doesn’t really plan on being alive after he finds Shaw because unless there’s some giant catch in the Professor’s offer, he can’t possibly screw this up. He won’t.

“That’s all I ask.” The Professor’s voice is rich and soothing and Erik fight to keep himself alert. “Meet them and show them what you can do.”

Erik turns his options over in his mind. It still seems too easy, too cheap, but that will be the Professor’s problem in the end, if this works. This is the fastest way to Shaw and that’s the only thing that matters.

“I accept,” Erik says, reaching out his hand to close the deal.

The Professor smiles up at him from his chair and takes his hand. The power in the room thrums at the edge of Erik’s senses.

“Your life is far more valuable than you give it credit for,” the Professor says softly, his fingers tight around Erik’s. He squeezes once, not even giving Erik time to think before he begins his incantation, pulling Erik into his spell.

**Author's Note:**

> [find it on tumblr, too!](http://dedkake.tumblr.com/post/131430773087)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [It's Magic! (A Gift Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11304339) by [Gerec](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gerec/pseuds/Gerec)




End file.
